Enterprise Zones

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the effects on the economy of introducing enterprise zones in Wales;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on the establishment of enterprise zones in Wales.

David Jones: Economic development is a devolved matter in Wales and any detailed assessment of the impact of Enterprise Zones on Wales would need to be carried out by the Welsh Assembly Government.
	However, it is vital that we give Welsh businesses the same competitive advantages as businesses in places like Bristol and Liverpool, where we have already committed to introducing Enterprise Zones.
	The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), has therefore had initial discussions with the First Minister and has also written to him on two occasions setting out our commitment to work with the Welsh Assembly Government to establish Enterprise Zones in Wales.
	Both my right hon. Friend and I will continue to champion the creation of Enterprise Zones in Wales with the new Welsh Assembly Government now the Welsh elections have concluded.

Small Businesses

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress the Government has made on introducing tax incentives for small businesses in Wales.

Cheryl Gillan: The Government are committed to providing the necessary support to small businesses in Wales through a number of initiatives, including tax incentives.
	We have reduced the small profits rate of Corporation Tax for small companies from 21% to 20%. We have increased the lifetime limit on gains eligible for Entrepreneurs’ Relief from £5 million to £10 million, encouraging entrepreneurs who want to expand their businesses and reinvest their gains. We have also extended the current small business rates relief holiday for one year from October 2011.
	To encourage investment in businesses with the highest growth potential, we announced a reform of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Venture Capital Tax scheme. Subject to State aid approval, the rate of income tax relief for EIS will be increased to 30%. We also announced a reform of the R&D tax credits scheme which will see, subject to State aid approval, the SME rate increased to 200% from April 2011 and 225% from April 2012.
	The Government have also asked the Office of Tax Simplification to undertake a review examining small business’ experience of tax administration and recommending possible reforms ahead of the 2012 Budget.

Serious Fraud Office

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Attorney-General what plans he has for the future of the Serious Fraud Office; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Grieve: Decisions have not yet been made on future structures for economic crime. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, in consultation with the Law Officers and other relevant colleagues, is currently considering options for delivering the Government's commitment to take white collar crime as seriously as other crime.

Roads: Lighting

Duncan Hames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has made an assessment of the potential (a) financial and (b) carbon savings of (i) a reduction in the density of lighting on main road and motorway routes and (ii) switching off lighting on sections of main road and motorway routes where there is a good safety record and traffic flows during the night are low.

Michael Penning: The Highways Agency has no plans to reduce the density of lighting (such as turning off every other lamp) on all purpose trunk roads (main roads) or motorways as this can cause patchy lighting and could compromise safety. This can be tiring for motorists and may conceal hazards in the darker patches.
	The agency have assessed and implemented switching lighting off between midnight and 5.00am on motorways where there is a good safety record and traffic flows during the night are low. This is delivering up to 40% savings in energy costs and carbon at these locations.
	There are no plans to switch off lighting during parts of the night on all purpose trunk roads.

NHS: Drugs

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures are in place to monitor the implementation of the recommendations in Best Practice for Ensuring the Efficient Supply and Distribution of Medicines to Patients, published by his Department in February 2011.

Simon Burns: “Best Practice for Ensuring the Efficient Supply and Distribution of Medicines to Patients” was published in February jointly by the Medicines Supply Chain Group. The Department carefully monitors data about supply problems to see if patients are being harmed because of delays in the supply of medicines.

Children in Care: Standards

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to improve the standard of children's homes.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 9 May 2011
	In September 2010 I launched a new sector led support and challenge programme for children's homes. The aim of this programme is to support the sector itself in developing and sharing evidence of effective practice so that children and young people in children's homes receive the best possible care.
	A range of activities is now under way, in close collaboration with local authorities, independent children's homes providers, Ofsted and leading researchers in the field. These include analysing data about children's homes, working with areas which have high concentrations of children's homes to identify features of good and poor practice and commissioning research about the characteristics and needs of the workforce in children's homes. The Department for Education is working closely with partners in the sector to make sure that the learning from this work is shared as widely as possible to support service improvement.
	Revised and streamlined regulations, guidance and National Minimum Standards for children's homes came into effect in April 2011. These emphasise the importance of delegating decision making as much and as clearly as possible to children's homes staff, so that they are able to offer children the personal support they need.

Discretionary Learner Support Fund

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of young people who will receive funding from the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 3 May 2011
	Around 320,000 young people will receive guaranteed support in the 2011/12 academic year as a result of the measures we announced on 28 March 2011. This includes those who will receive weekly payments under the transitional arrangements, and the estimated 12,000 young people who may be eligible each year for a guaranteed annual bursary of £1,200. Beyond this, the 16-19 Bursary fund is discretionary and decisions as to who will be supported and to what level will be made by schools, colleges and training organisations.

Education: Finance

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding he has allocated for the provision of top-up bursaries to students in receipt of education maintenance allowance who will receive a smaller or no award in 2011-12.

Nick Gibb: A total of £115.5 million will be allocated in the academic year 2011/12 to schools, colleges and training providers for discretionary bursaries. This will allow schools, colleges and training providers to: pay guaranteed bursaries to young people in vulnerable groups; pay discretionary bursaries to young people starting courses in 2011/12; and to provide ‘top up’ support from the discretionary fund to young people covered by the education maintenance allowance transitional arrangements where necessary. The amounts paid under each of these categories will depend on local circumstances.

Education: Finance

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether people in receipt of a 16 to 19 education bursary will be able to have their payment paid directly into a bank account; and what discussions he has had with representatives of banks on the scheme.

Nick Gibb: Under our proposed arrangements for the 16-19 Bursary Fund, schools, colleges and training providers will have discretion to make arrangements for paying bursaries to students in ways that best fit individual needs and circumstances.
	We are consulting on the details of the Bursary Fund and will work with the Association of Colleges, Sixth Form Colleges Forum and others to consider the arrangements, including the handling of cashless payment systems. The Department has not held any discussions with representatives of banks relating to the scheme.

Education: Finance

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether local authorities will be required to provide data to further education and sixth form colleges to enable them to assess the eligibility for discretionary learner support and bursaries of 16-year-olds applying to enrol at an institution in September 2011 in respect of students (a) in receipt of free school meals in year 11, (b) from a household with a low income, (c) in care and (d) in receipt of income support.

Nick Gibb: We will not require local authorities to provide data to further education and sixth form colleges in respect of young people’s eligibility for the new 16-19 Bursary Fund. We will provide guidance to schools, colleges and training providers regarding the kind of evidence they might wish to seek from young people claiming a guaranteed £1,200 bursary. Beyond that, schools, colleges and training providers will be able to exercise their discretion to award bursaries to young people—including those who were in receipt of free school meals in year 11—in ways that best fit their needs and circumstances.

Education: Finance

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with banks on provision of bank accounts for 16-year-olds who are to receive bursaries.

Nick Gibb: We have had no discussions with banks on the provision of bank accounts for 16-year-olds who are to receive bursaries. Arrangements for young people to open bank accounts were discussed at the time of the introduction of the education maintenance allowance and are unchanged by the announcement of the 16-19 Bursary Fund. Young people aged 16 are able to open a basic bank account, which is offered by 16 members of the British Bankers Association. This account will allow for receipt of the bursary, including by cashless means, and will allow funds to be withdrawn via ATMs as well as via standing orders and direct debits where necessary. In the summer of 2011 the Money Advice Service will be publishing an interactive tool on their website which will allow young people to find out the forms of identification that are accepted by each bank offering the basic bank account.

Education: Finance

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Education by what mechanism he expects schools to transfer funds to students in respect of 16 to 19 bursaries.

Nick Gibb: Under our proposed arrangements for the 16-19 Bursary Fund, schools, colleges and training providers will have discretion to award bursaries to students in ways that best meet individual needs and circumstances.

Education: Finance

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what arrangements his Department plans to put in place to facilitate the transfer of funding for 16 to 19 bursaries to schools and colleges.

Nick Gibb: The Young People's Learning Agency will make allocations for the 16-19 Bursary Fund to schools, colleges and training providers following the end of the formal consultation on the new arrangements, which includes a question on the proposed methodology for allocating the funding. The consultation closes on 20 May 2011.

Education: Finance

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what measures his Department plans to put in place to evaluate the 16 to 19 bursary scheme.

Nick Gibb: Currently schools, colleges and training providers with an allocation of discretionary learner support funds are required to provide management information to the Young People's Learning Agency. We expect that this arrangement will continue for the 16-19 Bursary Fund, allowing us to monitor its introduction. In addition we are considering how best to evaluate the impact of the new arrangements.

Education: Finance

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to issue guidance to colleges and schools on implementation of the proposed 16 to 19 bursary scheme.

Nick Gibb: The Young People's Learning Agency, who will be responsible for the operation of the new 16-19 Bursary Fund, will issue short, focused guidance to schools, colleges and training providers after the end of the formal consultation on the new arrangements.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what constitutes a severe disability for the purposes of assessing the award of a 16 to 19 bursary; and whether colleges will be expected to verify receipt of disability living allowance in determining an award.

Nick Gibb: Disabled young people who are in receipt of income support will be eligible to receive a guaranteed bursary of £1,200. Other disabled young people will be able to apply for a bursary from their school or college. We are consulting on the details of the new arrangements and will work with the Association of Colleges and Sixth Form Colleges Forum and others to consider how schools, colleges and training providers might identify those students who would benefit from support under the proposed arrangements.

Financial Stability Board: Investments

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what representations he has made to the Financial Stability Board on exchange traded funds;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the regulatory framework in the London markets in respect of exchange traded funds.

Mark Hoban: The Government are aware of the recent developments in the Exchange Traded Funds industry and is working closely with the FSA and Bank of England to analyse the risks associated with these products.
	The Financial Stability Board has carried out analysis of the exchange traded funds market at the request of its members. The UK is a member of the Financial Stability Board and is supportive of further analysis in this area.

Members: Correspondence

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight of 8 April 2011, ref. 1/91445/2011.

Justine Greening: HMRC plan to reply to the hon. Member on or before 16 May 2011 on behalf of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Pensions: Public Sector

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate has been made of the savings to the Exchequer of ending contracting out for defined-benefit public sector pension schemes.

Danny Alexander: The contracted out rebate for Defined Benefit pension schemes was worth £7.3 billion in.2008-09 (based on data from the NPS).
	NPS data does not differentiate between public and private sector employees and as such a precise estimate on the savings attributable to either group cannot be made.
	However, HM Treasury estimates that there are currently around 5.3 million active members of defined benefit pension schemes employed within the public sector.

Uplands Review

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on her Department’s uplands review.

James Paice: Let me thank the hon. Member and the Committee she chairs for highlighting the importance of Uplands.
	We have received numerous positive reactions from a wide range of stakeholders to the conclusions of the Uplands Policy Review, which was announced on 10 March.
	The value and potential of our Uplands have been overlooked for too long and this is the beginning, not the end of this Government’s commitment to the Uplands.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Arms Control

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department takes to monitor the (a) supply of arms to and (b) use of arms by militia and other non-state groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Henry Bellingham: The UK is a strong supporter of the UN arms embargo and other measures to restrict the supply of arms to militias operating in the country. The arms embargo was renewed on 30 November 2009 under UN Resolution 1896. This resolution also backed a sanctions regime to provide for measures against individuals or entities supporting illegal armed groups.
	Under UN Resolution 1896, the Group of Experts is mandated to investigate breaches of the arms embargo and support to illegal armed groups. The Group of Experts produces an annual report which is used as a basis for determining which individuals could be designated for sanctions. We have stayed in touch with the Group of Experts and have offered as much support to them as possible.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Females

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the British embassy in Kinshasa takes to monitor the situation of women in Eastern Congo; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Bellingham: To monitor the situation in Eastern Congo, we work with non-governmental organisations and other local and international civil society groups, as well as the UN peacekeeping mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is an important tool in monitoring human rights abuses. The UK also supports the work of Margot Wallström, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict.
	Women continue to face extremely high levels of sexual and gender-based violence in DRC. We have consistently lobbied the DRC Government, both bilaterally and with our EU partners, to implement necessary reforms and tackle impunity. Our ambassador to DRC takes every appropriate opportunity to raise the issue of sexual violence against women with the DRC authorities. I visited the DRC in July of last year, and raised concerns about human rights with various DRC Government Ministers. I stressed that the DRC's human rights record must improve. I met Foreign Minister Thambwe and urged the Government of DRC to implement fully President Kabila's “Zero Tolerance” policy on perpetrators of sexual violence. In February I also welcomed the conviction of the senior commander, Lt. Col. Mutuare Daniel Kibibi, and eight other soldiers for their role in the mass rape in the town of Fizi, eastern DRC.
	United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), the UN peacekeeping force in the DRC, plays a vital role in improving the security of civilians of the DRC. The UK's position in the UN Security Council has made sure that the priority for the force is protection of civilians.
	In November we published our ‘National Action Plan’ to address peace and security for women in DRC under UN Security Council Resolution 1325. This sets out our planned work for the coming year, and seeks to address the problem at all levels, including through security and programmes to support women in DRC. The document is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website, as is ‘Human Rights and Democracy: The 2010 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Report’, in which DRC features as a country of concern:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/global-issues/human-rights/around-the-world/human-rights-report/

Health Hazards: Regulation

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.

Chris Grayling: There has been no recent assessment of the effectiveness of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002—known as COSHH. However COSHH implements, among other, Directive 98/24/EC, the chemical agents directive, and the UK was obliged to assess the impact of the first five years of practical implementation of chemical agents directive in 2007.
	This assessment was prepared for the UK Government by the Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). It is available on the HSE website at:
	http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/meetings/hscarchive/2007/060207/c20.pdf
	The assessment concluded that while it was too early to assess the effect of the implementing regulations on occupational health and safety, as even if enough time had elapsed for potentially significant improvements to occur, it would be challenging to differentiate between the effects of the regulations, effects of other initiatives, e.g. targeted inspector activity, and background trends in improving health and safety.
	The UK will be required to undertake the next assessment of the implementation of the chemical agents directive later this year and HSE is currently considering the most appropriate way to do this.

Housing Benefit

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effects on individual families of the changes in housing allowances which took effect in April 2011.

Steve Webb: The Department has commissioned a consortium of academics and research organisations led by Ian Cole, professor of housing studies at Sheffield Hallam university to undertake an independent review of the impact of the housing benefit measures introduced last month. The work will include the effects of the measures on families.
	The Department of Communities and Local Government, The Scottish Government and Welsh Assembly Government are working in close partnership with the DWP and contributing to the costs of the review.

Social Security Benefits

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he intends that the proposed £26,000 benefit cap will be applied in combination with the 13 week rule applied to housing benefit claims.

Steve Webb: We are introducing a cap on the total amount of benefit that working-age people can receive so households on out of work benefits will no longer receive more in benefit than the average weekly wage earned by working families.
	On the cap’s introduction in 2013, we estimate it will be set at £500 per week for couple and single parent households and £350 per week for single adult households without children. This will apply to all new universal credit claims.
	Exemptions from the application of the benefit cap will be set out in regulations following the passage of the Welfare Reform Bill.
	We are currently looking at how universal credit could transitionally protect particularly hard cases.

Exports: Defence Equipment

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will place in the Library the country by country arms export data for (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010 in the same format as that used for the period from 2000 to 2007.

Mark Prisk: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills is responsible for releasing these data on a quarterly and annual basis.
	The data are no longer placed in the Library as they are now readily available via the Strategic Export Controls: Reports and Statistics website at:
	https://www.exportcontroldb.berr.gov.uk/eng/fox/sdb/SDBHOME
	Reports from 2008 onwards are still produced in the same style, compared to 2007, but in line with the Government's commitment to be more transparent and accountable we now provide much more information for each country. Improvements include:
	the goods rating being provided in addition to a summary description of the item, thus giving more information on the type of goods for which a licence has been issued for export to a specified country;
	the values are now broken down to the nearest £ per country and per rating, whereas previous reports gave a total figure for all licences issued for that country rounded to the nearest £0.5 million;
	median processing times are now provided per country, whereas this was not available previously.
	Furthermore the website referred to allows any person either to download reports published on a quarterly/annual basis within the ‘Published Reports’ area of the website (in read only format), or alternatively to register on the website and then produce their own bespoke reports.
	For these reasons the Government do not propose to place this information in the Library in the format requested, as more extensive information is already available to Members of Parliament through the online database.

Higher Education: Private Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the drop-out rates were at those for-profit higher education institutions where students received loans via the Student Loans Company but which did not receive other public funding council grants; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: holding answer 10 May 2011
	According to Student Loans Company data, in the 2009/10 academic year, 4,160 higher education students at private higher education institutions were in receipt of student finance. The Department does not hold comprehensive information on whether those private higher education providers are classed as for-profit or not-for-profit institutions, as this does not form part of the designation process. The available data does not allow us to discern whether or not any of these students were in receipt of other public funding council grants.
	Although the Higher Education Statistics Agency recently collected some data on private providers of higher education, the data does not contain the necessary detail to enable the calculation of drop-out rates at these institutions.

Professional Development Loans

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the withdrawal of professional development loans by retail banks; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The supply of professional development loans by retail branks is a matter for those banks.
	Neither the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), nor I have therefore discussed the matter with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne).
	Retail banks do deliver the professional and career development loans (PCDLs) scheme on behalf on the Department. There are no plans to withdraw this scheme.